Saint Leo Unable to Top Florida Southern in Dual Conference Meet

Jan 14, 2012

LAKELAND, Fla. – Traveling the short distance to Lakeland, Fla., the Saint Leo University men's and women's swim teams were unable to overcome the Florida Southern Moccasins in Sunshine State Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Hollis Wellness Center Pool. The men's team dropped to FSC 112-84, while the women fell to the Mocs by a final tally of 123-71.

"Compared to last year, our times are faster both with new personnel, as well as with our returning swimmers," said head coach Paul Mangen. "It's difficult to win versus a well-coached and talented Florida Southern squad, but when your roster is short due to disciplinary actions, it certainly makes for a long afternoon."

The Lions picked up second place finishes in the opening 200-Yard Medley Relays, with the women's foursome of Allison Cary, Sandra Stopczynska, Chloe Pellican, and Bianca Muniz coming in with a time of 1:55.96, and the men's squad of Rhet Rheinlander, Derek Maddigan, Gabe Keown, and Tim Olson finishing with an overall time of 1:37.37.

Kaitlyn Hite touched second in the women's 1,000-Yard Freestyle, coming in with a time of 11:11.48. Chloe Pellican took home a second place time, coming in at 1:02.59 in the women's 100-Yard Butterfly. Kristy Marques rounded out the list of second place times for the women's squad, touching with a time of 5:32.88 in the women's 500-Yard Freestyle.

Michael Cozzi took home a first-place time in the men's 1,000, finishing eight seconds in front of the competition with a time of 10:01.08. The East Hampton, Conn., native also took home a second place time in the 500-Yard Freestyle, touching at 4:51.48.

Tim Olson also earned a first and second place finish, touching first in the men's 200-Yard Individual Medley with a time of 1:58.79, and picking up second place with a time of 53.47 in the men's 100-Yard Butterfly.

"Our teams collectively put their best effort forward to fill the voids on our roster this afternoon, and it was great to see their efforts" Mangen concluded. "We will continue to look at these matchups as a great way to build up to the Sunshine State Conference Championships, as well as a possible NCAA appearance. We're continuing to practice hard and see improvements, and that's right where we want to be at this point in the season."

The Lions return to action on February 4, when they host Rollins on Senior Day. Both teams will take to the starting blocks at 11 a.m. For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo swim teams, visit SaintLeoLions.com.